Liberation
by loveislouder94
Summary: Life won't always be this perfect, she knows, happiness won't always come this easily. But she's willing to fight for it, and when she forgets the point of it all, this memory will be her anchor, her reason to keep going. Victoire-centred, for Bastille Day


**Author's note: Happy Bastille Day! I thought I'd write something to celebrate, centred on France. Apologies if it's terrible. In this story, it's May 2nd, Victoire's birthday, not July 14th. Just to clarify... Thank you for reading, reviews would be much appreciated. :)**

She's grown up in England, spent all her life there, but she has a strange kind of sense that France is _home._

It's not like she's never been there before, of course. They used to take family trips there at least once a year to see her mother's family. This time is different, because this time it's just her and Dom, and they can spend more time looking around and less time discussing fashion with Aunt Gabrielle.

They've done the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triumphe, they've walked the hallowed halls of the Louvre and gawked at the Mona Lisa. But it wasn't until today, wasn't until Versailles that she knew what she'd been searching for all this time, because she found it.

Freedom.

She's not sure why this place has given her what all the others couldn't, but she's thankful. _Merci, _she thinks, and it's a prayer and an expression of gratitude all at once, because she's hoping and begging not to lose this rare and fragile sense of peace.

It might have something to do with the utter majesty of this place, its enormity and its beauty. It makes her realise that she's a small part in the machinery of the world, but it also offers validation because it is so wonderful and maybe everyone else becomes wonderful too, just by sharing in its space.

They put on their headsets and explore the inside of the Palace, excruciatingly slowly, Victoire thinks, as Dom wants to stop and take pictures of every piece of art they see, and the walls are _filled _with art, the hallways lined with statues of past kings and the bedroom walls plastered with paintings. Victoire does not begrudge her sister, understanding how she secretly loves to draw, too shy to seek recognition for her work.

Walking through the halls gives her a better understanding of Louis XVI – it must have been hard having to face these imposing marble faces every day, those seemingly perfect leaders whose strength only served to emphasise his failure as his kingdom fell to revolution. Just as it is hard for her, watching her cousins, whose beauty lies in themselves, rather than their Veela blood, watching Louis break countless hearts, watching Dominique wow the world with her intelligence, most of all watching her family cry on her birthday. They cannot celebrate her, the living, while they mourn the dead.

Lastly, they explore the grounds, the Petit Trianon, and the Hamlet built by Marie Antoinette, the final Queen of France. This part is her favourite, strolling through the quaint house and the meticulously kept village, a far cry from the reality of the Third Estate.

She spins in circles, eyes wide and mouth hanging open, desperate to commit this place, and this feeling to memory. Dom reaches out and takes out her ponytail, allowing her long blonde hair to float freely behind her.

They stop at the Temple of Love, and Victoire closes her eyes and raises her face to the sky, drinking in the atmosphere. Life won't always be this perfect, she knows, happiness won't always come this easily. But she's willing to fight for it, and when she forgets the point of it all, this memory will be her anchor, her reason to keep going.

"Happy birthday," Dom says from beside her, and though she wants to say more, she knows her sister well enough to give her this moment to herself.

After a few moments Victoire turns back to her, smiling delightedly.

"Thanks, sis," is all she says, but she knows Dominique doesn't require an explanation.

For the French, July 14th is Bastille Day, a day of independence and celebration.

For the wizarding world, May 2nd is the anniversary of the darkest battle they had ever faced, a day of mourning and remembrance.

For Victoire, May 2nd is a birthday, and a day she has come to dread. July 14th, however, is the day of her liberation.


End file.
